Shearing device for chain link forming machines



7 F. E'. STAHL Feb. 12, 1935.

SHEARING DEVICE FOR CHAIN LINK FORMING MACHINES Filed July 24. 193; 2Sheets-Sheet 1 vvEA/I'M IWZRANK E. STAHL 4 rrozrgvsy SHEARING DEVICE FORCHAIN LINK FORMING MACHINES Filed July 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 formingmachine.

ends on the blank.

Patented Feb. 12, 135

PATENT {OFFICE a .My invention relates in general to'shearing devices oithe punch and die type, and in particular "to 'suchsa device which maybe used in.

connection 'with and operated'by a chainlink My invention relatesspecifically to the forming of blanks of predetermined length 'for themanufactureiof chain :links which are 'to have their ends united byelectric butt welding. It

A is well known to those 'skilled in the art, that when welding chainlinks having straight faced ends in parallelgrelationship,gaspocketsyare sometimes .formed, thus weakening the weld.

My. invention is specifically designed to provide a chain; link blankwith peculiarly formed ends which avoid the formation of such gaspockets, when welded together;

Oneu-ofthe objects for my invention has-been to provide a device of thisnature which may be conveniently attached to a 'chain link formingmachine and be conveniently operated by some part of the mechanism of:such machine.

Another object has. been to, provide a punch for such device which shalliprovi'deichisel shaped :Moreover,.:my devio'e isprovided with means foreiecting the slugs f-romthe punc-h. 1

-Furthermore, my invention is inexpensive to manufacture and durable in-constr-uction and operation. l A I The :above; cbjectssand advantageshave been accomplished by. the-device shown in the accomepanying'drawings, 'offiwhichz a I Fig. i is a side elevation, partly insection, of my device showing it attached -to 'th'e bed of a chain linkforming machine. f a HE- ig. 2 is an enlargedjifragmentary plan viewthereof, partly insection. i Fig. 3 an enlarged, transverse, sectionalelevaticn 'ofmy devioetakennn line 3-3:of Fig. 1; Fig. '4; is a plan,sec Tonal view; taken 'online 4---4ofFig.-3. Fig, 5 is aperspective'view ofthe punch of my device, Fig. 6 vis .a perspectiveview :of the slide 'cam 'of my device. 1 V v w Fig;- W is asideelevation' of a modified form oipunch. ,I

My. device may be operated by suitable operating part of the chain linkforming ma- I chine to which-it isappl-ied, but .1 :findit--convenientto use the =forming slide of such machine. In the drawings,therefore',;I have shownin somewhat fragmentary mannerthe slide 1-0 or"the chain forming 'lmachine which isreciprccated in the bed 11 ofythemachine by suitable cam means (not shown) "which preferably coact withthe slide roller 1 2i,v i The, slide carries the rollers which form theblanks into links, but this structure is well know-nfin the :art and is,therefore, not shown or-described; A rocker arm. 13is'pivctallysupported in-a bracket 14 above the bed 11 of the machinerinany suitable manner. Y This rocker arm has oneiof its-endsextending-rearwardly and is disposed over the slide 10. A rollerliiscarried.atthis-end of the arm. The other end of the arm extendsforwardly and is-pivotally attached to they'c'onnection 150i my deviceby means of a shaft 16. r This shaft held against end movementpreferably by means of a clamp 17 which engages a suitable groove formedin the shaft. The slide 10 is formed in-its rear end with a recess 20with which {the rocker arm roller 14 is engagea'ble.

An inclined insert 21 is arranged at the rear of the recess, and isengaged by the roller, by which the rocker arm is oscillated. I

Arranged atthe forward end of the slide is a return arm 22. This arm hasa level surface 23 which is connectedto a raised level surface 24 bymeans of an inclined surtace 25. I These surfaces are engageable with aroller 26 which is carried at the outer end of the shaft 16 of therocker arm. The weight of the rear end of the rocker arm is normallysufficient tocause 0 this arm with its roller 14 todescend into therecess down the inclined surface of the insert 21; However, if. for anyreason the arm should tend to remain in the position shown in Fig. 1,the inclined surface 25 of the return arm will engage with the rollerg26and serve to push the forward endof the arm upwardly which willassurej'its positive return to the starting position.

My device comprises a .die block 30 which is mounted in a channel 31'formed in-the top surface of the bed 11 of the machine and extending atright angles tot-he slide 10 thereof. This channel is arrangedpreferably equidistantly from the center line of travel of the stock 3'7from which the blanks are to be made. The die block is provided with acover block 32 which is held in place upon the die block 30 by means ofsuitable bolts 33. The bolts .also serve to hold the die block upon thebed of the machine in an adjustable manner. ,Disposed within the dieblock are the front and rear dies 34 and 35, respectively. These diesare slightly higher than the depth of the channel in which they aremounted so that they come slightly above the upper surfaceof the dieblock 30, as shown in Fig. 1. The cover block 32 is, therefore, broughtfirmly to bear upon the dies to securely hold them in place againstslippage within the die block. As shown in Fig. 4, the contiguous endsof the dies 34 and 35 are formed with faces which are V-shaped and ofvery obtuse angle. Each of the dies is, of course, provided with anaperture 36 therethrough for the passage of the stock 37 which is toform the blanks 38.

The cover 32 is formed with a centrally arranged rectangular recess 40in which is mounted a punch holder 41. The upper end 42 of this punchholder is of semi-cylindrical formation, as shown by the dotted lines inFig. 1, and this end is arranged for coaction with a semi-cylindricalrecess 43 formed in the bottom of the connection 15. The punch holder isheld in coacting contact with the connection 15 by means of side plates44. Each of these side plates is secured to the connection 15 by meansof suitable bolts and each of them carries a detent pin 45 which engagesa recess 46 formed in the adjacent faces of the punch holder. Therecesses 46 are provided at the center of the semi-cylindrical upper endof the holder so that the connection will be free to oscillate aroundover the semi-cylindrical surface while being securely attached to thepunch holder.

In the lower end of the punch holder there is formed a recess 50in whichis mounted the body 51 of the punch 52. A suitable set screw 53 iscarried by the punch holder and serves to hold the body of the punch inplace. The punch 52 of my device has two wings 54, each of substantiallyV-shaped cross-section, the wider dimension of the wing being at theoutside of the punch. Where these two wings meet at the center of thepunch, there is preferably formed a narrow flat surface 55. The sidesurfaces of each of the wings are, of course, of the same angle as theshearing faces of the dies 34 and 35, and they coact with such surfaceswhen the punch is operated. Formed in the punch 52 near its lower end isa shearing aperture 56 which registers with the apertures 36 formed inthe dies 34 and 35 when the punch is in its uppermost position.Obviously, the angle of the cutting surfaces of the punch and the diesis substantially the same as that desired at the ends of the link blank.

Some suitable friction means is preferably pro-- vided for the blank 38carried by the rear die 35 so as to hold the blank in such die. As shownin Fig. 4, this may comprise a body 60, carried by the die and having aspring-pressed plunger 61 mounted within it and having its forward endengageable with the blank 38.

When the form of punch shown in Fig. 5 is used, it is necessary toprovide some means to eject the slug 62 (see Fig. 3). Such meanspreferably comprises a plunger 63 formed with a reduced end 64 whichengages the aperture 56 of the punch when it is in its lowermostposition, as shown in Fig. 3. The outer end of the plunger 63 is carriedby a clevis 64 which is pivotally attached to one end of a lever 65."This lever is pivotally mounted upon the base 11 of the machine bymeans of a stud 66. Connected to the opposite end of the lever 65 is anoperating link 67. This link has its inner end pivotally attached to abell crank 68 which is pivotally attached to the base 11 by means of astud 69. The bell crank 68 carries an actuating roller 70 and a returnroller 71. These rollers are mounted in different planes and engage witha slide cam 72. This cam is mounted in a suitable recess in-the innerface of the slide 10 and it is formed on the side which faces the bellcrank lever with two sets of cam faces (see Fig. 6) for separateengagement with the rollers. One set of cam faces comprises a surface 73parallel to the line of travel and an indented surface 74 also parallelto the line of travel, and connected to the surface 73 by means of aninclined surface 75. The indented surface 74 is at the rear end of thecam, and it is with surfaces 74, 75, and 73 that the return roller 71engages, Underneath this set of faces is the other set, comprising anindented surface 76 at the forward end of the cam and parallel to theline of travel and a parallel surface 77, the surfaces 76 and 77 beingconnected by means of an inclined surface 78. It is with the surfaces76, 78 and 77 that the actuating roller 70 engages. When the parts arein the position shown in Fig. 2, the plunger 63 of the ejector is in itsinward position, as shown in Fig. 3, and has just ejected the slug 62shown as falling through the space 79. As clear from Fig. 2, theactuating roller 70 is riding upon the parallel surface 77 and thereturn roller is disposed adjacent the indented surface 74. When theslide 10 carries the cam '72 inwardly, the bell crank lever 68 will beoscillated in a clockwise direction as return roller 71 rides up theinclined surface to the surface 73 and the actuating roller '70 willthereby be moved down the inclined surface 78 to the parallel surface'76. This clockwise movement of the bell crank lever will serve toquickly withdraw the plunger 63 out of the aperture 56 of the die beforethe die is elevated 'to a new working position. After the plunger hasbeen withdrawn, the rollers 70 and 71 will move over the parallelsurfaces '76 and 73, respectively, thus holding the parts of the ejectorin their inoperative positions. The insert 21 of the slide 10 is soarranged that there is a slight movement of the slide 10 before therocker arm roller 14 starts to descend over the inclined surfacethereof, so that the plunger has ample opportunity to be withdrawn fromthe aperture 56 of the die before the punch is elevated. When the slideis being actuated in the opposite direction, the actuating roller 70will engage with the inclined surface 78 and cause the plunger to beforced inwardly to eject the slug from the punch which has by this timebeen moved to its final inward position.

The slide 10 of the chain forming machine is provided with a pad formedon the face of the slide which is opposite to .my device. Passingthrough the slide and this pad is a holder 86 in which a previously cutblank 87 is carried when my device is being actuated. The blank 87carried by the holder is the first blank to be cut and this has beenpushed or fed to this position in the slide by means of the second blank38, which is carried by the rear die 35. When the slide 10 is now againmoved to its inward position, the stock 37 will again be fed through thedies and will push the blank 87 to the forming mechanism of the machineand the blank 38 to position in the holder 86 of the slide and ready tobe fed to the forming mechanism during the next cycle of operation. Itis preferable to provide the holder 86 with some means (not shown) forfrictionally holding the blank 87 therein, and a device similar to thefriction means carried by the front die 35 may be employed.

Instead of providing a relatively long punch, like that shown in Fig. 5,a punch like that shown in Fig. 7 may be employed. This punch has wings88 and a body 89, but the aperture 90 is semicylindrical and the end 91of the. punch termichine, having a slide, of a shearing device, com-vprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with the slide foroscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of the stock beingformed into chain links, a punch slidably carried by the die block andcoacting therewith to cut off said stock in predetermined lengths,having V-shaped ends, and means connecting the punch with the rockerarm.

2. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punch having a shearing apertureslidably carried by the die block and coacting therewith to cut off saidstock in predetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, means connectingthe punch with the rocker arm, and means for ejecting the slugs from theaperture of the punch.

3. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, front andrear dies carried by thedie block and formed with interspaced shearing ends, a punch slidablycarried by the die block and coacting therewith to cut off said stock inpredetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, and means connecting thepunch with the rocker arm. l

4. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, front and rear dies carried by thedie block and formed with interspaced shearing ends, a die block coverarranged over the die block and engaging with the dies to hold them inplace, a punch slidably carried by the die block cover and shaped tocoact with the shearing ends of the dies for cutting off said stock inpredetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, and means connecting thepunch with the rocker arm.

5. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punch holder slidably carried bythe die block and having its upper end of semicylindrical form, apunchcarried by the punch holder and coacting with the die block to cut offstock in predetermined lengths, having V- shaped ends, a connectorpivotally mounted at the forward end of the rocker arm and having asemi-cylindrical recess in its lower end for engagement with the upperend of the punch soon as it is cut 'fr'omthei stock er t theconnectionholder, and meaastbr "attaching the punch'hold pris'inga rocker arrmcam' means associated with thef'slide ear foscillating-tlie 'rockerarm;*afd-ie bflockdn "the o'fj'the stock being iormed- -into chain 'links'japunch holder slidably "carried "by the die block and having its upperend of semicylindrical form, a punch carried by the punch holder andcoacting with the die block to cut on stock in predetermined lengths,having V-shaped ends, a connector pivotally mounted at the forward endof the rocker arm and having a semicylindrical recess in its lower endfor engagement with the upper end of the punch holder, a side plateattached to each side of the connection, and a detent pin carried byeach of the plates and engageable with a centrally arranged recess inthe semi-cylindrical end of the punch holder.

7. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punch having a shearing apertureslidably carried by the die block and coacting therewith to cut off saidstock in predetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, means connectingthe punch with the rocker arm, an ejector plunger carried by the dieblock and engageable with the aperture of the punch, and meansassociated with the slide for causing the plunger to be operated intimed relation with the punch.

8. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punch having a shearing apertureslidably carried by the die block and coacting therewith to cut off saidstock in predetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, means connectingthe punch with the rocker arm, an ejector plunger carried by the dieblock and engageable with the aperture of the punch, a cam carried bythe slide, a bell crank lever pivotally car- .ried by the bed of themachine and having a roller engageable with the cam, and meansconnecting the bell crank lever with the plunger.

9. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punch having a shearing apertureslidably carried by the die block and coacting therewith to cut off saidstock in predetermined lengths, having V-shaped ends, means connectingthe punch with the rocker arm, an ejector plunger carried by the dieblock and engageable with the aperture of the punch, a cam carried bythe slide and having two separate cam faces, a bell crank leverpivotally mounted upon the base of the machine and carrying two rollers,one engageable with each of the cam faces, and means connecting theplunger with the bell crank lever.

10. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, of ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm, cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a die block in the path of thestock being formed into chain links, a punchslidably carried by the: dieblock and coacting therewith to cut of! said,

stock in predetermined lengths, and meansconnecting the punch with therocker arm.

11. The combination with a chain forming machine, having a slide, or ashearing device, comprising a rocker arm cam means associated with theslide for oscillating the rocker arm, a.

